Team Opens 88th Season on October 3 at Phoenix; Home Opener on October 28 against Montreal

The New York Rangers will begin the 2013-14 season on Thursday, October 3 at Phoenix. This will mark the sixth consecutive season the Rangers open on the road, and the 12th time in the last 14 seasons.

The Blueshirts will play the first nine games of the season on the road, beginning with the season opener against Phoenix and concluding on October 26 at Detroit. This will be the longest road trip to start the season in franchise history, and the first time New York has played nine consecutive road games since the 1955-56 season. The Rangers will open their home schedule on Monday, October 28, with an Original Six matchup against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Rangers’ 82-game schedule will follow the NHL’s newly realigned, four division format, and is highlighted by outdoor contests against local rivals, the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, on Sunday, January 26 and Wednesday, January 29 at Yankee Stadium as part of the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. Under the new format, the Blueshirts will play 30 games against divisional opponents, and 24 games against Conference opponents outside of division. In addition, New York will have a home and away game against all Western Conference opponents in the Pacific and Central Divisions.

New York will face divisional opponents in the newly formed Metropolitan Division, which includes Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, NY Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington, four times each. The Rangers will also face New Jersey and NY Islanders one extra time each in the Stadium Series.

The Rangers will face Atlantic Division opponents three times. New York will host Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, and Toronto two times each. Meanwhile, New York will travel to Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, and Tampa Bay twice.

The schedule features 13 back-to-back sets during the season. The team’s longest homestand will be nine games, from December 7 against New Jersey to December 23 against Toronto. The stretch will be the longest homestand in franchise history. The busiest month on the Blueshirts’ schedule is March, with 16 contests (six at MSG). The busiest day on the Rangers’ home schedule is Sunday, with 11 contests at MSG. In addition, the Rangers will play six home games on Mondays, seven on Tuesdays, four on Wednesdays, seven on Thursdays, two on Fridays, and four on Saturdays. Following the Olympic break, the Rangers will finish the season with 23 contests in 47 days. Eleven of the team’s final 17 contests are away from MSG, including eight out of their last 13. Rick Nash will make his return to Columbus for the first time as an opposing player on November 7.